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Research & Publications

Research is an integral part of the mission of the Department of Infectious Disease. Our research efforts span infectious conditions and microbes and share a focus on clinical applicability to patients.

Ongoing research efforts are funded by both internal and external sources including the National Institutes of Health, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Clinical and Translational Scientific Collaboration, internal funding and pharmaceutical industry grants.

Research interests in the Section of Bone and Joint Infections includes improvement in diagnostic algorithms using traditional and newer molecular techniques, prosthetic joint infections with drug-resistant pathogens, and improvement in processes of outpatient intravenous antibiotic therapy of bone and joint infections.

Members of the Section participated in a recently-completed trial comparing daptomycin, a newer antibiotic, to traditional drug treatment in staphylococcal infections of prosthetic knees and hips. Members of the Section have presented research and invited lectures at national meetings and serve on the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s panel constructing guidelines on the diagnosis and management of vertebral osteomyelitis (spine infections).

The Cardiovascular Infections section of the Department of Infectious Disease is actively engaged in academic work describing our experience with complex patients treated for infective endocarditis, infections of cardiac implantable electrophysiological devices (CIEDs), and left ventricular assist devices.

Opportunities also exist for other patient populations with infections of the cardiovascular system including those with infections of peripheral vascular bypass grafts and those who have undergone endovascular repair of aortic aneurysms.

The focus of current projects has included the descriptive epidemiology of surgically and medically treated endocarditis, diagnostic and therapeutic approach to patients with infected CIEDs, metastatic complications of assist device infections, and the bioethical issues involved in the treatment of patients with assist device infection. The academic work of this section has been multidisciplinary and has included our cardiology, cardiac surgery, and bioethics colleagues.

Research in granulomatous infections has centered on several areas. In the area of tuberculosis, we are interested in evaluating the implementation and interpretation of novel testing such as interferon-gamma release assays for latent tuberculosis, infection control of active tuberculosis, and novel diagnostics involving M. tuberculosis. We are also involved in clinical cohort studies of histoplasmosis in various hosts, such as solid organ transplant recipients and older adults. Lastly, we study the manifestations and outcomes of infections with non-tuberculous mycobacteria.

The HIV research group at the Cleveland Clinic receives external funding from several sources including the National Institutes of Health, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Two externally funded research programs are highlighted here:

Dr. Tungsiripat's main research interests focus on the study of the metabolic complications associated with HIV infection and its treatment. In particular, she is interested in the metabolic complications of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, and fat redistribution. She presently holds a NIH mentored career development award for the investigation of body fat distribution and cardiovascular complications of HV infection. Current studies are targeted towards understanding the mechanisms of these complications with the goal of preventing their development.

Dr. Abbas’ research interests cover mathematical and computational infectious disease epidemiology with a particular focus on HIV/AIDS. Her research group develops mathematical, statistical and computational models of the HIV epidemic and analyses the potential impact of prevention, treatment and control strategies. She is currently studying the impact of antiretroviral drugs used for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and treatment (ART) of HIV, on the spread of HIV and drug resistance in resource-limited settings, such as South Africa.

She is the principal investigator on two research grants, awarded by the National Institutes of Health and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She is mentoring two full-time research fellows: Robert Glaubius, PhD; Computer Science and Engineering, and Anuj Mubayi, PhD; Applied Mathematics. Her collaborators include investigators at the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, Carnegie Mellon University and Imperial College London. Dr. Abbas is a participant of the HIV PrEP modeling meetings convened by the UNAIDS.